Denial
by MoonBunny789
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in denial.
1. Deny

**Just something I wrote while trying to get back into writing. I found inspiration in a random train of thought and wrote it pretty quickly.  
**

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Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in denial. She had been ever since Alya showed her that photo-shopped picture of Adrien as Chat Noir. She was determinedly ignoring it.

Every time Adrien reminded her of Chat; every smirk, every wink, every pun. She was paying attention and it did not slip her notice that when he let his guard down around his friends he seemed a bit more like a certain crime fighting feline.

And now Chat was reminding her of Adrien too. The same allergy, that odd reaction while fighting the Bubbler about not all kids needing parents. The same look of angry determination when fighting against something evil, of course the worst thing that Adrien has faced is Chloe but still. And of course, they both smelled faintly of cheese…

But if Adrien is Chat then that would mean that he is in love with the wrong version of her and that is too painful for her to think about.

All of this she noticed and then immediately ignored because Marinette Dupain-Cheng was in denial and it would take more than a picture and a couple of coincidences to get her out.

* * *

 **I wanted to try and write a fanfic for this fandom. I know its short but it's just a small idea I had that I liked because I think that as of now with the current episodes out, it could be cannon, this could be what is going on in head that she is noticing everything but is just in denial because she doesn't want to think about the consequences**

 **Also explaining a bit more about Marinette's thought process because I got a review that prompted me to clarify;**

 **Yeah she's not being completely fair. But she's also kinda just being an insecure teen. In the web short she admits that she probably would have fallen for chat if there wasn't Adrien so she doesn't hate Chat and if her brain is associating the two of them, even if she refuses to admit it then that is something. But she already thought that she wasn't good enough for Adrien. Now she has found out that he is in love with what she views as the better version of herself. That has got to hurt. So she is denying the whole thing to save herself from the pain.**


	2. Lie

**I wasn't sure if I was going to make another chapter but I still had ideas for this**

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'I am a good liar.' Marinette thinks to herself on one of the rare occasions that she actually tries to face her emotions and thoughts instead of denying them.

'It is easy to lie to others. To plaster on a fake smile and go about your regular routine as if you really care.' Looking around her room she knows she is still lying to herself; she had removed all pictures of Adrien from her room believing that there was no point if she had already lost to herself. Alya had noticed her lack of enthusiasm in Adrian and believed that she was giving up and moving on, which was true in a way. She just knew that plain old Marinette would never compare to the Ladybug who he loves.

'It is much harder to lie to oneself. To tell yourself that everything is ok, that you are happy anyway. That someone as normal and plain as yourself has the right to be a superhero. Has the right to make everyone love you under false pretenses. That it's all ok. That is much harder.' She was crying now, silent tears running down her face, but she didn't truly notice caught up in her thoughts. She took out her miraculous and stared hard at them. Her lip quivers and a sob builds up as she thinks of what would happen if everyone, if Adrien, if Alya, found out that that the Ladybug they love so much was just her.

"I am a good liar." She whispers before curling up and sobbing.

* * *

 **I think I made myself sad writing this. geezum. The way i see it, Marinette has low self esteem that she feels that Ladybug is better than normal her. This would get worse with realizing that the boy she likes is in love with the 'better' her. Her best friend is obsessed with Ladybug, the whole town loves Ladybug so much they even made her a statue. This would all be a self esteem blow.**


	3. Straw

**Here's the inserted chapter to better explain Marinette's depression.**

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The straw that broke the camels back. Marinette was aware of the saying but never really thought too much about it until she found that saying apply to her. She'd always been insecure about herself, most teens are, she thinks. But her insecurities became so much worse when she became a superhero. Marinette was clumsy; Ladybug was not. Marinette used to have incredibly bad luck; Ladybug was basically good luck incarnate. Marinette struggled to speak her mind and stand up to bullies; Ladybug fought actual villains and gave speeches about how bad they were. Marinette couldn't even build the courage to talk to her crush, let alone actually give him her gifts; Ladybug had so much courage, she had to, she fought Akuma.

In short, Marinette was certain that Ladybug was a better her than she was, but she tried to push those feelings away. When her best friend made a blog dedicated to her better half, when statues were made, when all of Paris fell for Ladybug. She tried so hard to suppress the jealousy and insecurity, but she was at her breaking point.

And the straw that broke the camels back, the thing that broke Marinette was finding out her crush was in love with the better her. 'Of course he is, who wants a dumb nobody like me?' She thought to herself. 'everyone loves her more, maybe I should just disappear…' She knew, logically, that she still had to exist for Ladybug to exist, but maybe she could just fade into the background as Marinette, she wasn't the important half after all.


	4. Mask

Her everyday façade was developing many cracks. The mask of denial she wore to hide the pain was breaking down. People were beginning to notice that Marinette was acting differently.

She no longer stood up for herself against Chloe. Marinette didn't believe she was someone worth defending. She didn't speak up in class. She stopped approaching Adrien; it was less painful for her if she no longer saw the reminders of why she isn't good enough. Her smiles seemed sadder and she stopped laughing. She became much more withdrawn, not seeking others out in her free time. Her relationship with her friends changed as she talked to them less and less. The only real constants in her life being Alya and Tikki.

Alya noticed the change of course. It was becoming too obvious not to, even if Marinette denied that she had changed at all. Alya asked Marinette if she was ok multiple times and that she was there to talk if she needed it but Marinette would just close up and ignore her. So Alya just did her best to try and keep Marinette happy and continue being a friend, it was all she could think of if Marinette wasn't willing to talk to her.

Tikki knew that the type of dark feelings Marinette was having weren't the type that usually attracted Hawkmoth's attention; Marinette's being the slow burn of depression where the akuma's targets normally have a sudden rush of dark emotion. But even slow building depression can reach the point where they become a target and they, in her many years of experience, end up being exceptionally strong. As a Miraculous holder, Marinette has some natural protection against the akuma butterflies and Hawkmoth. It being much harder to sense her dark emotions is the most prominent protection, so unless Marinette's emotions become increasingly dark or she is somehow separated from her miraculous, she was not in danger yet. Tikki decided that the best course of action was to give her more time to sort through her feelings on her own, Marinette was only a teenager after all.

The bubbly Marinette was gone and in her place was a girl desperately trying to hold it together behind a crumbling mask.

* * *

 **so I was wondering why all the akuma-ized victims were people who only felt sad or angry right then, not an ongoing problem. I think that the sudden rush of emotions might be appealing for some reason. Tikki's section is my explanation on why Marinette hasn't been targeted yet.  
**


	5. Pedistal

**Sorry for the wait.**

* * *

There had been an akuma attack. It had targeted a former employer but had retreated when Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up. They were now patrolling the building waiting for its return.

Marinette was feeling very uncomfortable as Chat has been using this time together to flirt with her without worrying about the battle or transformations ending. Instead of playfully responding calling him a silly kitty everything else she would normally do to stop his flirting, Marinette was just ignoring him. Completely unresponsive to his comments… outwardly anyway. Internally she was screaming at the situation. The feelings of how absolutely wrong the situation was bubbled up to the point where she felt she needed to say something or she would explode.

"Chat," she interrupted him from whatever flirty comment she was ignoring. "What would you do if you saw who I was behind the mask?"

"I would say how lovely it is to finally see your beautiful face in whole," he said with a grin.

"I'm serious, Chat. Do you remember when you thought that my secret identity was Chloe? Were you still in love with Ladybug in that moment? It's the me that's behind the mask that is truly important. If I don't live up to whatever expectations you've set for Ladybug, then you will just be disappointed in who I really am.

"You and the whole town have set Ladybug on this impossible to reach pedestal and I'm not perfect, I can't be Ladybug all the time! I'm not like her in my normal life, alright! Are you like Chat Noir in your daily life?" Her questioning had turned into ranting which quickly turned into yelling.

Chat stared dumbfounded unable to process all that she had shouted at him but was saved from having to respond by the akuma's convenient appearance.

* * *

 **Marinette got a temporary confidence boost as Ladybug so she shouted her feelings to Adrien.  
**


	6. Artist

**Alright so I had writers block and haven't updated for a while so to make up for that I'm going to upload a couple chapters at once.**

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Nathaniel was watching Marinette as he drew her in his comic. He, like anyone else that payed any -attention to her, had noticed that she was depressed lately and wanted to make her feel better. He didn't really know how but hopefully it involved becoming her boyfriend, or at least her friend; she was sad and he wanted to make her happy even if that meant they weren't dating. He missed her smiles.

He was so distracted that he didn't notice when their science teacher came up to him and noticed him drawing. As he got up to go to the office as instructed, he tripped and dropped his comic. Chloe picked them up and announced to the whole class that he loves Marinette. Grabbing his things and not daring to look at her, he ran.

* * *

 **so this is the start of my version of Nathaniel's ep. its going to go differently quickly because of the way that my Marinette has changed. She has changed a lot since the start of the story and she will continue to change as she accepts Adrien being Chat and how that effects her as Ladybug and Marinette. She knows Adrien is Chat at this point but she is definitely didn't take it well. she needs to reassess herself and ladybug and see if they really are different.  
**


	7. Artist The Meeting

**Part 2 of my evilustrator update. long chapter for me omg  
**

* * *

Marinette was shocked. No one had ever had a crush on _her_ before. In fact, at this point, she was pretty sure no one but Alya even liked her. Apparently she was wrong. Someone did like her, Marinette not Ladybug, and they liked her a lot.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when the group assignment teams were announced. She honestly wasn't too upset about having to work with Chloe and Sabrina, it was better than being with Adrien and snapping at him like she did the other day while they were in their masks. Even if he doesn't know that was her. He would say something that would make her yell and then they would both feel bad. So dealing with Chloe wasn't the worst option. It wasn't the best either, she still would rather work with Alya and maybe Nino or someone.

She found Chloe and Sabrina after class and saw that Chloe was shoving all her work onto Sabrina. She almost intervened but found that she didn't have the energy to fight with Chloe right then. She decided if Sabrina wanted to be a doormat she could. She and Sabrina divided the remaining work and she met with the two of them at the library, though she wasn't sure why Chloe even came if she isn't doing any work.

As Chloe yelled at her for accidentally dropping a book near her, books suddenly rained down on Chloe. And as she complained about her hair, a giant hairdryer came to chase her around. Marinette actually smiled at the comical scene Chloe made before she remembered that superheroes probably shouldn't smile at civilian's pain, even if they hate those civilians.

In the moments she spent giggling at Chloe's misfortune, Chat Noir appeared. Well she did see Adrien when she entered the library. She hasn't transformed yet, maybe she can tease him.

"Wow! Chat Noir! You're here already?" She shouted loud enough to gain the attention of many students and Chat himself, though most of his attention was on the evil hairdryer, "To get here that fast you would have had to had been in the library before the attack started! Are you a student here?" Now that got his attention. And Alya's. There was definitely going to be an article on the Ladyblog on this.

Chat was scrambling as all the attention was now on his identity. The Artist was using this chance to get away but Chat noticed him and ran after him only to be stopped by a glass barrier. Marinette hid and transformed, waiting for Chat to call and alert her to the akuma before showing up.

Chat Noir had decided that since they had attacked Chloe in the library, they should protect her.

Chloe was even worse to be around as Ladybug it turns out. Her obsession with Ladybug was making her unbearable. Add that to the fact that she was also still making fun of Marinette even if she didn't know she was right there, and Marinette was done. Chloe could save herself. Marinette is going home to work on the project that Chloe should be doing herself.

At home Marinette saw that Sabrina had called her. A lot. All to see how the report was coming along, can't have Marinette slacking and giving Chloe a bad grade after all. She typed up a message to Sabrina telling her not to worry, and she can't work while Sabrina is calling her every five seconds. She was about to send it when the akuma that attacked the library entered her room. She immediately recognized it as Nathaniel, seeing as this is what the drawing of his super hero looked like. She bit her lip in worry, unsure if she would be able to transform right in front of him.

"Marinette!" He smiled at her. Well, it looked like he wasn't hostile for now at least.

"Nathaniel," she cocked her head to the side and said it like a question, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be terrorizing Chloe or fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir?" She had an idea to why he was _here_ and not there but decided to act clueless for now.

"I'm The Artist now… but of course you can call me Nathaniel still, Marinette," he laughed nervously. "I'm here because I really like you and, well, um, today is my birthday so, um, will you go on a date with me?"

Marinette blinked. Not quite what she expected but she could work with this.

"Sure. Happy birthday! Do you mind if I text my friend first? She was supposed to meet up with me so we could study and I don't want her to worry." She smiled.

He agreed and Marinette quickly pulled out her phone. She typed up a message to Alya about how Nathaniel was the library akuma and that he had somewhat kidnapped her and if she could send a message to Ladybug and Chat Noir that she needed help that would be great. She sent it and she beckoned Tikki into her pocket before turning back to Nathaniel.

* * *

 **So my Marinette is different and it reacts differently. She is depressed and doesn't stand up to Chloe anymore, so Sabrina is left undefended. Marinette is getting a little bitter so she teases Chat and laughs at Chloe instead of immediately helping.  
**


	8. Artist The Kidnapping

**woo almost done with this episode  
**

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"Where to now?" She smiled. He created a jetpack, took her hand and flew through the hole he made in her wall. He brought her high into the sky until he made a solid cloud with his tablet and set them down on it. She looked around wearily, the ground was far below them and falling would almost certainly mean death… if she wasn't also Ladybug but even then it wasn't guaranteed that she could swing away from a fall this high without some sort of injury.

"Nathaniel, this seems dangerous," Marinette frowned with worry, reasoning with an akuma almost never went well but she wasn't really sure what to do. Chat was still guarding Chloe and she really didn't like the idea of transforming right in front of an akuma. She just hoped that the message she sent Alya would find its way to Chat. But even if it did, how would he find her? She needed to not wait for help that might not come and find her own way out. 'Be strong Marinette, you can do this. Like Tikki says; you _are_ Ladybug.' She steeled herself.

"Don't worry Marinette, I wouldn't let you get hurt! I just want you to be happy! You have been so sad lately, I just wanted to take you out on a date and make you smile." Well she wasn't expecting that. He said it with such a sincere expression she didn't quite know what to make of it.

"But I am happy," Marinette denied after a moment. He gave her a disbelieving look and she scowled. "Alright, maybe not happy. But I'm not sad! Well, maybe a little but I don't need fixing!"

The Akuma Nathaniel realized that was the best he was going to get from her and moved on. "I have a magic tablet that makes anything you draw on it real. Don't you think we could have fun with that?"

Marinette blinked at that statement; thinking about her current situation. About how she was _standing_ on a _cloud_ , and what had happened in the library. She thought about the implications of his statement and smiled. "Yes, yes we could."

* * *

 **So Nathaniel took her with him in stead if just an invite because he's trying to cheer her up and wants to devote as much time as possible to that. She is a diff Marinette he will treat her that way. In other news Yay Marinette! She is finally starting to see herself as Ladybug just a little bit. (or at least she is trying) It only took being kidnapped by an akuma in her civi form to do it but yay!  
**


	9. Artist The Victory

**Almost done**

* * *

An hour later and the two of them were laughing together surrounded by their creations. They were floating down a canal on a boat that they had made filled with the various things they had made with their abuse of power. Marinette had designed and created clothes for the first time in weeks, it was obnoxiously easy using the tablet. Nathaniel had made many things in an effort to amuse/cheer up/woo her including a miniature Paris, a painting of the Mona Lisa with her face on it, and a statue of her as Ladybug which she laughed at and then suggested him as Chat Noir.

As Nathaniel was finishing another drawing the butterfly mask on his face glowed purple. He stopped, as if he was listening to something she couldn't hear and gave a sudden "Yes, Hawkmoth."

That was her wake up call. She had almost forgotten that she even needed to stop Nathaniel, he was being so nice to her. But that was over and she knew that she had to hurry. An idea formed and she smiled.

When the glow had completely faded from Nathaniel she turned to him.

"Nathaniel, do you think I could draw again?" She started innocently. He smiled at her, seeming glad that she hadn't brought up what had just happened.

"Of course Marinette. Here," he handed her the stylist and tablet. She was almost positive at this point that Hawkmoth could see what Nathaniel saw, and even if he couldn't she still didn't want Nathaniel to see so she drew a simple blindfold. She held it out.

"It's a surprise," Marinette said with another small smile. He had no reason not to trust her and took the blindfold. She waited a minute before she finally let Tikki out of her pocket with a gesture to be silent. She whispered her transformation command and Ladybug took her place. She crushed the stylist and cleansed the akuma butterfly with no resistance.

* * *

 **All in all this wasn't a bad day for her i think. and we are almost done with this ep i think. So do you guys like how marinette handled the akuma?  
**


	10. Artist The Mistake

**Hello. First of all I'd like to apologize for the long wait. I started this story when I realized I hadn't seen many sad/dark/angsty Miraculous fics but then when my depression started to come back I realized it was hard to write this without making myself feel bad. I am no longer depressed for the moment but I'm struggling to find the same motivation for this story that I previously had. I'm not abandoning it but there may be long breaks between chapters. Sorry.**

* * *

But of course it couldn't be that easy. Ladybug scooped up the unconscious Nathaniel, still out from the akuma cleansing, and jumped off the boat. She knew that when she used her miraculous ladybug attack to restore the town, it would disappear. But when she tried to do just that, she met some resistance. She had failed to use her Lucky Charm and that was apparently necessary to activate the restoration magic.

Chat Noir appeared behind her, having tracked her down after she transformed. "Ladybug, where have you been? The akuma kidnapped a girl!"

"The akuma has been defeated and I already sent Marinette home, Chat." She said briskly without looking up at him. Instead she stared down at her yoyo as if looking at it would give her the answer she wanted. "There's a new problem though." She admitted, looking up at him for the first time since he arrived.

He looked stressed. And looking down at her yoyo she checked the communicator on it and saw several messages on it. Knowing him, he follows the Ladyblog and probably got a notification whenever Alya posted about her kidnapping and has most likely been searching since. Of course, she couldn't help seeing as she was the kidnapped girl in question.

"Marinette's safe?" Seeing her nod, he continued, "What's the problem then?"

"I…forgot to use Lucky Charm on the akuma and now I can't restore the city." She frowned at her yoyo again, internally cursing its picky magic rules. "I was about to try using Lucky Charm now and see if _that_ item will work."

It didn't work. No matter how many times she threw the spotted object into the air, nothing changed and by the time her timer got down to two beeps Chat intervened.

"Alright, it's not working and you are running out of time so here's my question; how much damage did this akuma do?"

She stopped, "Well, there was the library. Also there is a hole in Marinette's wall," 'damn' she added to herself, "but other than that I believe he mostly just made things." At that she gestured to the boat.

Chat considered this for a moment then spoke, "While the hole is not ideal, this could have been a lot worse. And now we know about this for the future so I say we call this a night while we are still ahead." He finished with a grin.

She sighed and nodded, "Good night." She walked around the corner and waited for him to leave. Once she was once again Marinette and thought Chat was gone, she ran over to the boat. If it wasn't going to disappear, she might as well keep what she made.

* * *

 **Alright, so Mari is about to loot the ship. I'm taking suggestions for things she would want to keep so review with your idea if you want. I've wondered what would happen if she didn't use Lucky Charm so this is my head cannon for that.**


	11. Artist The Looting

****Hello. First of all I'd like to apologize for the long wait. I started this story when I realized I hadn't seen many sad/dark/angsty Miraculous fics but then when my depression started to come back I realized it was hard to write this without making myself feel bad. I am no longer depressed for the moment but I'm struggling to find the same motivation for this story that I previously had. I'm not abandoning it but there may be long breaks between chapters. Sorry.** **

**After watching all the new episodes I felt motivated to write a few more chapters**

* * *

As soon as Marinette got back on the boat of magical creations the first thing she did was grab a bag she had made. The bag contained its own pocket dimension; she could put as much into the bag as she wanted and it would never be full. Her very own Mary Poppins bag. She proceeded to start shoving everything she made into the bag.

Dresses she designed, a tiny moon that floated just above eye level and glowed softly, fairy lights with actual fairies in them… which she hoped wouldn't be too hard to take care of, hopefully they'd be like Tikki and just ask for sweets from the bakery and not some mythical food she could never provide them.

She paused. "I'm sure they'll be fine." She reassured herself. She resumed.

She grabbed the tiny floating stars, because the moon deserved some company. She grabbed the crystal flower, growing beautifully in a small pot where she could already see new buds growing. A blanket that was always warm, jeans that could resize themselves to better fit you, a hoodie that blended into the background around it, heels that wouldn't hurt no matter how long you wore them.

She grabbed the very fancy video camera she made for Alya and pointed out a tray of cookies to a tired Tikki. As Tikki ate, she decided to ask a few questions.

"This stuff isn't dangerous, right? I mean, you are eating the magic cookie so its probably not bad. Like, eating or using this stuff won't make us Akumas right?" Marinette asked looking at Tikki while she sorted through a particularly large pile of things, grabbing what she wants and discarding the rest. Tikki thought that she looked the most energetic and, dare she think, cheerful as she has in weeks, so it was with a tiny giggle and a slightly relieved smile that she floated over to answer Marinette.

"No, these objects are safe. These are objects made from magic itself and does not carry the corrupting magic that the possessed objects do." Marinette looked a little confused so Tikki continued, "Its not the dark possession magic Hawkmoth uses nor the light purifying magic you use. They are neutral. These objects are all just objects. Objects that happen to have been made from magic but do not have any deeper magical nefarious meaning or connection to the akuma that created them."

"I think I understand. The stuff is safe even though an akuma made it and we can continue to use or eat it, right?

"Correct," Tikki smiled. While she had been scared for Marinette earlier, she was glad to see her relax, create, and be happy even just for a little while. And even if that joy came from an unexpected source. Maybe this experience is the first step to getting rid of her recent depression and Tikki was glad Marinette had friends who cared so much for her that they would do something as kind as this while being an _Akuma_.

Marinette grinned at her and Tikki almost wanted to thank Hawkmoth for possessing Nathaniel.

"I wonder if there is anything here that could fix the hole in my wall," Marinette said as she wandered off. As she walked she grabbed the semi-solid cloud she thought would make an excellent bed.

Marinette was in a surprisingly good mood considering she had been kidnapped and there was now a hole in her wall. Maybe it was because she defeated an akuma almost entirely as Marinette and not Ladybug. Or maybe it was all the impossible objects around her. Or knowing that she had more people who care about her than she was previously thinking, even if she doesn't return Nathaniel's romantic feelings she hoped they could be friends. She didn't know exactly what was making her so joyful, but it didn't matter really seeing as it was about to end.

"Marinette? Why are you still here?"

* * *

 **I added a lot of magic things in this chapter and Tikki was a wonderful exposition fairy for us. As a note, Marinette did grab more things than were specifically mentioned and they may or may not show up in future chapters.**


	12. Artist The Truth

**Woop woop another new chapter. just a warning but I probably only have at most three more chapters started before my next writers block sets in. A Writis I've mentioned before, this story can occasionally be difficult for me to write without upsetting my own mental health and sometimes I have to put myself first when it comes to this story. Writing is a hobby for me, I'm not going to do it if it makes me feel like crap for a month afterwards.  
**

* * *

She turned suddenly, eyes wide in surprise, "Chat? You're still here?"

And indeed, he was. He hoped down onto the magic boat, looking at her confused. "I believe I asked first, shouldn't you be getting home? I bet your parents have been really worried about you, you should let them know you are safe."

As her previous joy faded and left the stress of the kidnapping with her, she suddenly felt very tired. While partially physically tired, for the most part she was mentally tired. It had been a long, stressful day. After weeks of moping and she was done.

"What do you want, Adrien?" She looked him straight in the eyes as she said that. She saw the surprise and fear flicker across his face before he tried to respond.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but it isn't me," was all he managed to get out before she interrupted.

"Cut it out, I know ok. I've known for a while now. I'm not going to tell anyone. It's… fine, I guess. I wasn't happy at first but that wasn't really about you." She looked at him, took a deep breath, and continued. "I have something to tell you too. But before I do I want you to know something; I loved you, I really did. But there is no way we can be together after I tell you my secret. And I've accepted that. And you deserve to know my secret too."

She looked over to where Tikki was hiding, "You can come out Tikki." She did. She flew around Marinette for a few moments before heading over to where Chat Noir was standing.

"Marinette, what- "

"Chat, Adrien, I'm Ladybug."

* * *

 **Oooo the truth comes out and the confrontation begins. (Don't worry about the cliffhanger, I'm uploading the next chapter tomorrow)**

 **So Marinette decided she was tired of all the lies and secrecy and guilt and ended up just letting it all out. She also recognized that it was unfair that she knew who he was but he didn't know her. She just also assumed that now she has told him, he'll be disappointed**


	13. Authors Note

**Ok I didn't think I'd have to do one of these but I keep getting reviews about how out of character Marinette is... THAT'S THE POINT! My Marinette has DEPRESSION and MAJOR Self Image issues. She hasn't done all the things Canon Mari did because as a depressed Mari she wouldn't. She hasn't designed for over a month, she stopped talking to basically everyone but Alya. And she definitely doesn't stand up to Chloe anymore!**

 **I think I'm going to write a small drabble chapter to insert between chapters 1 and 2 going into detail about how she is Depressed. But I really didn't think this would have to be necessary; of course my Mari didn't do everything cannon!Mari did, they're practically different people at this point.**

 **Sorry I had to post this, I'll post the actual chapter a bit later today.**

 ***Edit* I'll be placing the new chapter between 2 and 3 not 1 and 2.**


	14. Confrontation

**In case you missed it, go back and read the chapter I added "Straw". Sorry about the Authors note post earlier so now you get two chapters in one day!**

* * *

He looked at her, shock and disbelief on his face. He looked at the tiny creature that could only be a Kwami.

"You're Ladybug? That's… Fantastic!" He was still processing all that information, but he's sure he heard an I love you from his lady, and there is no way that could be bad.

"No, it's not. Don't you get it? You love Ladybug and I'm _not her._ "

"You're… not Ladybug?"

"No. Yes. No, I am but I'm not." She looked at his confused face and sighed, "Look. Remember when I asked you what you would do if you saw the real me? And about how I am not like Ladybug normally and that when you found out you would be disappointed? This is then."

"But, Marinette, I'm not disappointed it's you; you're my friend and amazing and so brave and strong. You are perfect, Ladybug." He cried out. But, despite wanting too, she didn't believe him.

"See, 'you're amazing, brave, and strong, _Ladybug!_ ' you don't actually like me as Marinette, you just love Ladybug and are projecting that on me. This is exactly why I said we couldn't be together. I love Adrien, and am very fond of Chat, you are one of my closest friends, but I still haven't sorted out my feelings over you being the same person completely yet. _You_ only love Ladybug, or the idea of her or something, but you definitely don't love me as Marinette, we aren't even close friends as Marinette. I could never manage to talk to you and you rarely would talk to me.

"Which brings us to the problem; I'm never going to be able to believe that you love me as Marinette without the influence of my status as Ladybug. I mean, why _would_ you love me over Ladybug? I know better than anyone else how better she is than me." Tears gathered in her eyes as she turned and grabbed her bag.

"I'm sorry Adrien, I just… I can't believe it. It's better this way, you deserve someone better than me anyways."

She walked to the edge of the boat with Tikki close behind her, "Tikki…" it was almost a whisper but Tikki still heard and in a flash, Ladybug took Marinette's place. She gave Adrien one last look before she grabbed her bag and ran away.

* * *

 **Everything's all out now, now we just have to see how they react after they both think about this conversation some more.**


End file.
